Who We Were
by EverleighMoon
Summary: When the Saviors arrive in Alexandria, Peyton only wants to make sure that she and the people she love are able to get by. She ends up finding that this new world has so much more in store for her, and that things are not always black and white. And I don't own the Walking Dead or its characters!
1. Chapter 1

The town had never been so quiet. It was like a ghost town, one where you walked in and felt the presence of spirits that had been before, while at the same time not being able to imagine anyone having ever lived there. The difference was that people did live here. Less people than before, but living breathing bodies were inside these homes, looking out the windows…. and waiting.

Peyton should have been one of those people hiding behind the curtains. But regardless of what was about to happen, work needed to get done. If the town was to eat, the garden needed to be tended, and that was one of her jobs. And she was already doing a shit job of it as it was. Her dad had always been the one with the green thumb, and as much as she wanted to be like him she just couldn't get the vegetables to grow quite as large or as healthy as his always had in their tiny backyard garden. When Maggie left and Rick assigned the task to her she was confident she could figure it out. But, she quickly found that guesswork and trial and error were not going to produce results fast enough to fill the mostly empty pantry in Alexandria. So she asked around and managed to get her hands on a few gardening books, pouring over them for hours to figure out what needed to be done. Today was the day that she planned on fertilizing, and it was going to happen whether they were having visitors or not.

So there she was, covered in mud and sweat, when she heard them arrive. Four large vehicles pulled right up against the gates, and Rick's tense and shrinking frame hurriedly headed past her to meet them. _Just keep doing what you're doing,_ she told herself. _Play it cool and you'll keep your head, literally._

Rosita had been the one to tell Peyton what had happened that night. The peaceful and ignorant life that they knew in their tiny town was over, more so now even than after the Wolves came, or after the giant walker herd came through. Every time they thought they understood what it would take to survive in this new world, some new beast came and reminded them that they really knew nothing at all. Only this time, it cost them two of their most trusted soldiers and the leadership of the man they had thought would save them all. Not that Peyton blamed Rick for what happened, but she was beginning to realize after all of the things she had seen since his group arrived that yes, she had been too comfortable in Alexandria, and that she was not going to be able to rely on anyone to keep her safe. Because she was not safe. No one was.

She couldn't believe she had let herself forget. After her house, after her family, how could she have forgotten what this new world was? When the outbreak first happened she thanked her lucky stars that she was born to a survivalist war vet that her friends had all made fun of growing up. She had managed to make her way home, taking back roads and side streets to avoid the main way through town that was quickly jamming up. As she made it up the drive way he was already rushing out the door, shotgun at the ready to cover her as she ran inside. The dead ones hadn't made it to their neighborhood yet, but people were panicking and the looting began almost immediately. He led her through the house and they began organizing the supplies he hadn't already gotten to, and Peyton was shocked to find out that the four guns she already knew about hidden throughout the house were only the tip of the iceberg. As they went through each room her father added more guns and knives to the bag he held at his side. She filled hers with a limited amount of toiletries, boxed food, batteries, and other items that she knew they would eventually need if they had to make a quick getaway. And when he looked away she snuck in the items she knew he would not approve of taking up space; a few pictures from her vanity, her favorite book, a notebook and pen, and her ipod.

Her mother and sister were already hidden away up in the attic. He had made a point years earlier of making the entrance virtually invisible to anyone who didn't know it was there, disguising it as nothing more than a decorative tray ceiling. He figured that this would be the best place for them to ride everything out until things were either under control or the looters had moved onto new territory. They slept in shifts, each taking turns with a gun pointed directly at the opening to the attic and ears open to the sounds outside. Gunfire, sirens, and the occasional scream let them know that this was not going to be over as quickly as they had hoped. After about two weeks they began rationing, and after the fourth Peyton and her father began planning runs. The kitchen had been emptied by a group about a week prior, though all of the food they had left would have been spoiled by that point anyway.

They agreed that her mother and sister would stay. Neither were good shots, and their nerves were not as steady either. Peyton wished she could stay locked away in that attic as well, but her dad needed her. Needed her extra set of hands and ears. But Peyton also had the overwhelming urge to make sure he was as protected as he wanted his family to be. She had always seen her father as invincible, but age had been showing in the last few years and she knew he couldn't do this on his own. He needed her to watch his back the way he had always watched hers.

They decided stores were a last resort as they had most likely been ransacked already and might even be harboring other people who might not be keen on potentially sharing. They instead headed to the neighborhood school and found some first aid supplies and food to get them through a couple more weeks. It was there that Peyton also encountered her first dean man wandering the halls. She shot him three times in the chest but he kept coming, and the closer he got the more she forgot all of the things her father had taught her about fighting and protecting herself. His face was sunken and blood was pouring from his abdomen. His eyes had fogged over and a low growl escaped his throat as he reached out with withered hands towards her, chomping his teeth frantically like a wild animal. If her father hadn't run up behind her and slammed his shotgun into his head at that moment, she would have been done for. But he saved her, and told her that going forward all blows should be centered on the head. There was no sense in taking chances that another method might work.

Since finding Alexandria, Peyton had pushed the memories of those first months as far back as she could into the part of her mind that only came out in nightmares, and it was easy to tell herself that none of it mattered, that she was safe and nothing was going to hurt her. But now the nightmare was real again, and she had spent the last few weeks moving in between states of shock and anger at herself for not seeing something like this coming. Because the dead were not the only monsters this world had created, and the next one had reared its ugly head towards the people of her quiet town.

And it was there, bent over a wilting tomato plant, that she heard his voice for the first time.

"Well look at this!" It was loud and boisterous, placing emphasis on each word individually. "I don't know why you're complaining about food, Rick. Seems to me you got yourself your own little farm here."

As she heard the voice approaching where she knelt, Peyton jumped to her feet and turned face first into his chest. She gasped and began to pull back, but his hands grabbed her arms.

"Whoa there! Buy me some dinner before you jump my bones. You didn't tell me how nice your ladies are here." The man turned to Rick, giving him a smirk as he did, still holding onto Peyton's arms. Rick replied with a small sneer before turning to give Peyton as reassuring of a look as he could. The man then turned back to Peyton.

"Where are my manners? I'm Negan."

Peyton took in a deep breath and looked at his eyes. If it wasn't for what she already knew, she might have thought she saw the smallest hint of kindness hidden in them. As it was, she found herself taken aback by just how different he was from what she had imagined. His dark hair slicked back, a well-kept beard covering a wide smile, and those big hazel eyes did not belong on a killer. And it was this distracting thought that tricked her into being much bolder than she knew she should have been.

"I'm Peyton. It's nice to meet you." She lifted a hand and held it out into the small gap between the two of them. Negan leaned back a bit, a small grin spreading across his mouth. He leaned back to look at the group of men and women that Peyton didn't recognize and hadn't yet even noticed standing at his back.

"And some respect on top of it!" he turned back to Peyton. "Yeah, I'm gonna like it here." He finally let go of her arms, and she felt the tension that had built up inside of her relax only the slightest bit. He then held out his hand and took hers in a small shake, locking eyes and grinning at her the entire time. She didn't smile, just stared back uncomfortably at those eyes. After what felt like way too long she pulled her hand away, using it to pull the hair that had stuck to her face with sweat as she worked behind her ear as she turned her head away from his gaze and looked towards her boots. He kept looking at her, but directed his voice towards Rick.

"So, where's dinner tonight?"

"What?" Rick growled, raising his eyes to Negan for the first time since he arrived.

"I said 'Where's dinner tonight?'" Negan repeated, bending down into Rick's face. Then he laughed. "What, you thought I was just gonna stop by and exchange pleasantries? I've gotta get a feel for my new investment here. Make sure this place is running at tip top shape before I just blindly walk away and expect to have you all meet my demands." He leaned in to whisper in Rick's ear. "Who knows, if leadership isn't going well I might have to make some adjustments. But we don't want that now, do we?"

Rick ignored the last line, save for another small snarl. "My house is there." He replied, pointing down the street. Peyton followed his arm and saw Carl standing on the front porch.

"You, you cook?" She jumped around at the sound.

"Me?" Peyton looked back and forth between Negan and Rick. Negan was eying her curiously.

"Yeah you."

"Why?" Negan's eyebrows went up.

"Because I don't trust Rick here not to slip glass in the spaghetti sauce. And because you'd be better to look at in a ruffly apron. So I'm gonna ask again, do you cook?"

Peyton huffed a bit and crossed her arms. She had never been one to let a man disrespect her without giving her a piece of her mind. But seeing that baseball bat Rick was carrying reminded her to hold her tongue and play nice.

"It depends on what you like," she said calmly.

Negan leaned in a little closer and spoke in a low voice. "I have a feeling you can figure something out."

He backed away and turned around. "7 o'clock. Rick's place. Now, let's finish the grand tour and leave this lovely lady to her work." As he walked away, Rick lingered behind the rest and leaned into Peyton.

"It'll be alright." He said quietly. "Just gotta get through however long they decide to stay. We'll play along, but I'll make sure tonight goes smooth."

She looked up at him and gave a half grin. "It's fine. If he bashes my head in over some bad potatoes then we're all on borrowed time anyway."

"Hey! What are you waiting for asshole?" a young woman, probably not much older than Peyton yelled, glaring at Rick. Peyton could see his hand tense around the bat in his hand as he let out a labored breath and began walking towards the group of strangers ahead of them. She still had not taken too much notice of them, but as they walked away she could see the guns in each of their hands, the knives at their waists and the chip that each one wore on their shoulder. They were enjoying this, coming into other peoples' homes and taking what they wanted without a soul who'd be willing to fight back. Although she had a feeling they would have enjoyed an excuse to start a fight themselves.

She took a deep breath and looked at the mess of a garden all around her. _What the hell am I going to do?_ She thought. Could she cook? She was ok she supposed, had definitely graduated past the Ramen Noodle days of college, but she definitely was no chef. And her comment to Rick about her head being bashed in was meant to be taken as a joke, but for all she knew could be a real possibility. Yes, this guy looked normal, possibly even handsome if she'd let herself admit it, but he was also a psychopath that Peyton had been banking on trying to keep her distance from. And that plan was failing a good five minutes into his arrival.

"You got this P," she said to herself letting out a deep breath. She looked back down at her tomato plant, wilted and barren, cursed herself for not giving it enough water in this summer heat, and got back to work.

"Shit…"

It was 6:15pm, and the pantry had a few boxes of macaroni and cheese, some spam, a couple cans of vegetables, and some powdered lemonade. Peyton looked pleadingly at Olivia.

"This is seriously all that we have? Where is everything?"

"They already loaded it." Olivia responded. "He said they were only going to take half, but after he left his men just started taking everything. I tried to reason with them, but they just said that half is whatever they want it to be. Can you believe that? How do they expect to get anything from us if we starve to death first?" She shuffled and pushed her glasses up further onto her nose. It was a nervous habit Peyton saw her do often. Olivia was a quite woman, someone who put others' needs before her own on so many occasions. She wasn't meant to be in a place like this. Peyton loved her as a sister.

"And how do they expect a home cooked meal if all the food is in their trucks?" Peyton sighed and crossed her arms, closing her eyes to think. "Well, I can make the mac and cheese and try to fancy it up as best I can. Do we have any more bread in the freezer? I can try to bake it or something and give it a topping."

"I think they might have left a loaf or two."

"Awesome. And I can use some of the chard in the garden to make a small salad. That's the only thing ive been able to keep alive out there. It'll just have to do. Pray for me." She crossed her fingers and held them up in the air.

Olivia pulled her into a tight hug. "Keep your head up. They want to see us break."

"That goes for you too, missy," Peyton responded as they broke apart. Olivia turned to go back to the freezer to finish taking stock of what their new friends had left them. As Peyton turned to leave, she reached back and grabbed the lemonade as an afterthought.

When she entered Rick's house, she was immediately taken aback. The living room was in complete shambles, with furniture overturned and items scattered across the floor. Carl barreled around the corner as she walked further into the room.

"What happened?"

"Someone took two guns from the armory. Theyre searching everyone's houses now. You didn't see them?"

"No I was in the garden most of the morning, and then I took a shift with the kids. I was just at the pantry getting food. Olivia didn't say anything." She headed to the kitchen and began setting her items on the counter. She looked at Carl to continue.

"She wasn't there when they came through. Dad's trying his best to figure out who has them or else Negan's going to go back and shoot her on the spot." He let out a loud sigh and hung his head." I don't know why he's not fighting. He's just going along with whatever they say. This isn't us."

Peyton rubbed his arm. "He's just trying to make sure no one gets hurt."

"Yeah, well, unless he finds those guns it won't matter." He left the kitchen and Peyton could hear his footsteps heading up the stairs.

She focused her attention on the task in front of her, slipping this information about Olivia into a compartment deep inside her head with the hope that she wouldn't have to readdress it later. Rick would find the guns. He had to. That was his job as their protector and she knew he would do everything in his power to make sure it happened. Her job at this moment was to cook a meal that would keep their guests satisfied. So she let her mind become occupied with boiling noodles and mixing herbs she found in the cabinet with bread crumbs, trying to ignore the urge to listen for gunshots outside. The clock was quickly reaching the seven o'clock mark, so while the food was cooking she did her best to reorganize the living and dining areas and put out place settings. Once the table seemed presentable she began preparing the lemonade. The clock had now passed her deadline and was approaching seven fifteen. She walked over to the window and looked out onto the street. No one was headed down their stretch of town yet, but she also had not heard anything in the distance that sounded threatening. She tried to take comfort in that, but her heart felt like it was up in her throat.

About fifteen minutes later, the sound of footsteps headed up the front porch. Peyton stood from where she had been biting her nails at the kitchen island and headed to the door. She pulled it open to find Rick and Negan facing each other, the latter with a look of smug amusement on his face.

"Well hello again," he said turning to Peyton. "I must apologize for my time. We had some business that needed taking care of now didn't we Rick."

"This isn't Olivia's fault, I told you."

"All I need is a name and Miss Piggy goes free. But hey, its dinner time, and I _don't_ do business at the table Rick. Its sacrilegious." He brushed past Peyton into the house, looking down at her as he did. They were so close, Peyton couldn't help but notice his scent. Like a mix of tobacco and clean linens. She hadn't been around anyone who smelled that good in a long time. She hated herself for noticing it and even more for appreciating it.

"Where is Olivia?" she asked as he walked further into the house.

He sighed. "Did you not just hear what I told Rick?"

"We're not at the table yet." She wasn't sure where her boldness came from. The man in front of her had no sympathy for her, wouldn't think twice about harming her, but he was also holding the future of her friend in his hands and she was not going to let anything happen to her without putting up some sort of a fight for her.

Huh, I guess you're right about that." Negan scrunched his face up and looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. "You've got some pretty big ass balls on you for a broad don't you?"

"She's my friend and I want to know that she's ok." She looked him straight in the eye, but her already thin confidence began to waver as he walked towards her. "I'm not trying to cause trouble. I just want to know if she's ok."

He chuckled. Peyton could feel Rick shift uncomfortably behind her. "Well I can tell you that Olivia is peachy for the moment. Your fearless leader Rick found the guns she lost, but doesn't seem to want to tell me who had them. So the issue as it stands is that someone broke the rules, and so someone has to pay the price. Now I don't wanna hurt your friend, I don't, but until Rick gives me a name she's the only one I can use as an example to get my point across." He chuckled again, this time only inches away from her face. "Now it's 7:30 and I'm starving. So if you don't mind, I'd like to quit rehashing this and eat." He backed himself up into the kitchen, whistling as he sat at the head of the table and placed a napkin on his lap. He looked back at the two of them with a questioning look on his face. "Well, are we eating or what?"

Peyton looked to Rick, who gave her a nod and headed over to the table to take his own seat. She went to the oven and took out her sad excuse for a casserole, praying that is was still at least warm enough to eat. As she brought it along with a bowl of green beans to the table, Negan looked around, leaning his head to peer back into the living room.

"Where's the kid? Kyle?"

"Carl." Rick replied.

"He's upstairs in his room." Peyton answered. She grabbed the lemonade and began pouring it into the glasses she had set out.

"Call him down here, Rick. Haven't you taught him it's rude to not greet guests?" he looked up at Peyton. "No one teaches manners anymore."

"He's just a kid." She said quietly. He looked back up at her as if surprised she even had a response.

Rick got up from the table and stood at the base of the stairs. "Carl, come down and eat." Moments later, they heard the sound of a door creeping open and Carl's footsteps slowly making their way back down the steps. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen and glared at Negan.

"Ooh well if looks could kill. Come on kid, sit. Peyton has made us a delicious feast." He looked down at the casserole dish in front of him. "Is that Macaroni and cheese?" he looked up at her again, this time with a look of almost sincere confusion.

"That's all we had. If you wanted something fancy you should have left us a bit more to work with."

"On the contrary, mac and cheese is a delicacy where I come from. But point taken." He laughed under his breath and turned to the others. "Although let's be honest, without Olivia here you guys just might have more to spare anyways." Peyton dropped the salt shaker she had been moving over to Carl's side of the table. She quickly picked it up and placed it where she had intended before turning and rushing towards the kitchen.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?"

Peyton turned back around. "I was going to start cleaning up the mess I made in Rick's kitchen."

"No you're not. Grab a plate, sit down. You worked so hard making us this fine meal you deserve to eat it. The men can handle the clean-up, right Rick?"

Rick nodded, looking apologetically at Peyton. He looked so broken, so much smaller than he had seemed when he first walked into Alexandria and told them all about what it was like to survive on the outside.

She sat down opposite Negan and scooped a small amount of food on her plate. She doubted she would be able to eat at all, Olivia's fate still weighing heavily on her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well this was just a treat!" Negan leaned back in his seat, hanging his arms behind him on the chair. He looked over at Peyton. "Seems like my guys didn't leave you too unprepared. That's the best mac and cheese I've had in my life. And the lemonade," he leaned forward and inhaled deeply, pretending to savor the drink that was now in his hand. "Shit, this feels like the good old days, don't it?"

He looked back and forth between her and Rick, eventually setting his gaze on Rick. "Well don't just sit there. This little lady put on quite the feast. Don't you think you and Kyle should chip in and take care of these dishes?"

"It's Carl," Carl said angrily, shooting Negan a dark glare. He only snickered in response.

"Yeah, I guess it is." He looked back and forth between the two again. " _Please_ go clean up this shit."

The two stood and began gathering the plates, Rick looking up at Peyton as he leaned over and giving her a nod. He and Carl left for the kitchen in silence, and for the first time Peyton was alone with Negan. She nervously looked around the room, trying to keep her eyes away from his as she clutched the sides of her chair so hard that her knuckles turned white. The meal had been uneventful, Negan throwing in a few nasty side comments at Rick every once in a while and receiving mostly grunts in response. Peyton had settled for looking down at her plate as much as possible, spending more time pushing her food around than actually eating. Inside her head a battle was going on as she went back and forth between loathing the man at the head of the table for destroying her home, and guiltily resenting Rick for allowing it to happen. He had done so much to try to keep their people safe, yet somehow they were in worse shape than ever, and now one of her best friends was paying the price. And even though Rick had the information required to save her he wouldn't do it. Not that Peyton wanted to see anyone else be killed. Thinking of that possibility made the situation in her head even more confusing and heartbreaking and set the circle beginning again, leading her back to where she focused all of her hate towards Negan. And it was his deep, booming voice that again startled her into the present.

"You don't like me." He said it, as a statement rather than a question.

"Excuse me?" She finally turned to look at him. He had removed his jacket and wore a simple white tee shirt, revealing tattoos and a bandage wrapped around his left forearm. He was intimidating, but just looking at him sitting at the table like it was a random Tuesday Peyton could imagine how easy it would be to forget who he was and to not be afraid of him. He had a way about him that seemed almost comfortable to her, as if he could be your best friend, someone you could kick back with and have a few beers. If it wasn't for the baseball bat sitting on Rick's mantle she could have easily forgotten how they'd all reached this point.

"I don't know you," she managed to croak out, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, but you don't like me just the same. Hell, I guess I can't blame you. Here I come, take your guys' shit. Oh, and there was that little incident last week with Rick and his friends, but hey, I just thought I could come in and we could all start fresh, ya know. That we could have an understanding that people could get on board with."

Peyton eyed him suspiciously. She assumed there was a point to him bringing this up, but all it did was annoy her.

"Why do you care?"

"Care about what?"

"What I think of you? What any of us think of you? It's not going to change anything, right?"

Negan grinned as he leaned back in his chair again. "Probably not. And I guess I don't care all that much what you all think of me. But you," he chuckled and reached for his lemonade, bringing it up to his face as he prepared to finish his thought. "You're not like the rest of your group here. You're interesting."

"And why do you say that?"

"Well, as much as I'm sure you're shitting in your cute little pants over there after hearing about Rick's previous altercations with me, you haven't exactly backed down when I speak either. Not doing enough to piss me off, but not backing down none the less."

Peyton shrugged. "I made you dinner, didn't I?"

"Oh not about that. I'm talking about earlier, when you practically jumped down my throat over that broad who's in charge of the food and shit."

"Her name is Olivia."

"That's right, Olivia. Ya know she seems like a real sweetheart. It's a shame your man Rick doesn't seem to wanna help her out."

Peyton felt intense worry start to settle its way back into her mind. She had done her best to shut it off during dinner so that she wouldn't say anything stupid, but now it was back and quickly followed by a new emotion: anger. Negan was toying with her, wanting to see if she would crack because he knew how important Olivia was to her. And she didn't appreciate it.

"First off he's not my man, and second, if you kill Olivia that's on you." She crossed her arms in front of her as she finished, gritting her teeth and trying to maintain composure.

"Well isn't someone getting pissy?"

Peyton looked him in the eye, checking herself and making sure to keep her tone even. "I'm just stating a fact. Rick has been in charge here for a while but he's far from perfect, and I think you've made it clear that he answers to you now. So if _you're_ in charge and you kill Olivia then it's on you."

Negan pursed his lips and looked at her as if he was thinking hard about what she had said and how to answer. "Well then, what do you suppose I should do?"

Peyton's face snapped up from where they stared at a stain on the placemat in front of her to meet his gaze. He looked surprisingly serious, as if he really wanted to know her thoughts. "Wait, what?"

"You seem to have it all figured out. So how exactly should I handle this little predicament?"

She hadn't been expecting this, and had no idea what the right answer would be in this game he was playing. The wrong one wouldn't just affect the conversation, but she feared it could potentially affect Olivia's life.

"Well, I guess… uh-"

"Because the way I look at it, I don't have many options here. You see, there are two ways this thing can go. I can come in, play Mr. Nice Guy, try to make some friends, and pray to whatever the hell in the universe already abandoned us to live among the dead that full out anarchy doesn't break out. Or I can set things right, make sure there's an order to this new world we're making here. Do you have any idea how freaking hard that is? I make one false move and suddenly people get it in their heads that the rules don't matter. And then we're right back to square one. Or maybe you didn't see all that shit living in Disneyland here while everything out there went to shit."

She frowned and looked back down at her hands on the table in front of her. "I wasn't always here."

Negan sighed and leaned forward, coming closer to her and speaking quietly. "Awww shit, I didn't know. No offense, but you don't exactly look like a girl that coulda made it out there."

Her head snapped back up as she eyed him angrily. "What does that mean?" The comment had pissed her off more than she should have let it, but who was he to act like he knew anything about her? He had no clue what she had gone through, what she had lost. She supposed she could see why he thought that. She was not the toughest looking girl by any means; she was built small, but with enough curves to show that she was a woman and not a young girl anymore. With her green eyes and long brown hair that she refused to cut despite how much it got in the way nowdays, she had always received many compliments on her appearance. But no, she didn't look hard, and her eyes that always held a somewhat hopeful look to them had the benefit of making people think she was nicer, dare she say weaker, than she was. It had gotten her out of a few tight spots since the world had ended. But now, knowing that this man was underestimating her pissed her off.

"It means I wouldn't expect you to get it. To understand what it takes to make a world like this work. Most of the people that make it aren't exactly joys to deal with, if you get what I mean."

Peyton looked away from the smirk he was making placed her hands on her lap. She could hear the faucet running in the kitchen along with the sound of dishes clinking. Rick and Carl's muffled voices came through the walls, the tone sounding heated. She remembered her conversation with Carl from earlier and imagined they were arguing over the best ways to deal with their dinner guest. She took in a deep breath before carrying on the conversation, hoping she wasn't heading further into dangerous territory.

"You don't need to kill Olivia." She began.

Negan raised his eyebrows, feigning curiosity. "Go on."

"It's your first day here and everyone is already terrified. And I do get it. You wanted to make sure we were all scared. That's why you killed Glenn and Abraham, it's why you took Daryl. You want to make sure no one tries to fight against you again. But for now you have that, so killing Olivia is pointless. It's not going to get you your guns, and the person who has them is still out there."

"So what you're saying is that I need to find that person and kill them?"

"No!" she replied quickly. "Look, for all we know it was a legitimate accident. No one has to die for it."

"It was Olivia's job to make sure accidents don't happen. And I'm sorry but guns just floating around uncalled for seems like a pretty serious 'accident' to me."

"I get that. But the point is that killing her still doesn't solve your problem. Olivia was played maybe, but that shouldn't be something to kill someone over. I'm sure people have gotten things past you before, but they were the ones that were punished, not you."

"So again we come back to you saying that I should kill the person who took them instead?"

Peyton began getting frustrated. "I don't want you to kill anyone!" She sighed. "Do I think you should find them? Yes. But like I said, everyone is already afraid. Fear makes people do stupid things, and getting caught the first time would probably be enough to make sure whoever did it doesn't try anything stupid again."

Negan thought about that for a second, his eyes never leaving Peyton's. "So you think I should hold off and give a friendly warning to our offender once we find him?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't hurt just once, could it? It's not like Olivia is some big threat you'll regret keeping alive later."

He laughed. "Unless you count all the damn food this town is wasting on her." Peyton glared back. "Well, c'mon, am I wrong? Sorry. I'm sure she's a lovely person."

The door to the kitchen opened as Rick and Carl made their way back into the room. Carl's irritation lingered on his face, and Peyton imagined he had lost whatever argument they were having while doing dishes.

"It's getting late," Rick began. "I think it's about time to call this a night."

Negan stood up, a big smile spreading across his face. "You know what, I think you're right. So, where's my room?"

Rick's jaw tightened. "I assumed you had picked one of the empty houses I showed you earlier."

"Aaaw, really? Now what kind of a slumber party is that? No, I think I this place here is just fine."

Peyton was surprised blood hadn't begun spewing out of Rick's ears as he did his best to maintain a straight face. It was all a mind game, Negan pretending to be the humble guest that most definitely would not be turned away. He wanted to continue to break Rick, pushing him to the very limit, forcing him to play the polite host to the person who had murdered his friends and threatened to harm more at any moment. And though she knew he was no Saint himself, Peyton couldn't help but feel sorry for him in that moment.

"There's a room upstairs, second door on the right. Bathroom is across the hall."

Negan grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and swung it over his shoulder. "I really am beat. This was all just so exciting for me today, but now I've just got to get some beauty sleep." He turned to Peyton and gave a small, sideways grin. "I'll be keeping what you said in mind." And with that, he turned and made his way up the stairs.

Rick looks over at Peyton, his face full of confusion. "What was that about? What were you guys talking about?"

Peyton sighed. "I just asked him not to hurt Olivia. Did my best to reason with him. Not sure if it worked though."

Rick looked down at the ground, bringing his eyes up just enough to look sadly back at her. "You can't reason with a guy like him, Peyton. I'm sorry, but we have to prepare ourselves for what might happen tomorrow."

A single tear rolled down her face. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to think about it until she absolutely had to. "I know. But I had to try." She wiped her cheek and looked around, trying to think of a way to change the subject. "So, where is Michonne anyways? I haven't seen her all day. I would have thought she would have _loved_ joining us for dinner tonight."

Rick sighed, and she could tell he was worried. "I wish I knew. She left before I got up this morning." He looked up the stairs. "I just hope she's back soon."

"I'm sure she will be" she replied, rubbing his arm softly. "I should be heading out. It's been a long day."

"Yeah, yeah it has. Thanks for doing this tonight. I know it wasn't easy. I'm hoping they'll all leave soon and we can try to pretend everything is normal again."

Peyton gave him a smile, one that did nothing to hide her sadness, both for him and for herself. "We can pretend, right? Goodnight Rick." She turned to give Carl a nod before leaving.

As she walked out onto the dark street, a new energy hung in the air, as if everything in Alexandria was suddenly vibrating around her. Though it was quiet, she could almost feel the tension in each of the homes she passed reaching out to her. She wondered where they were holding Olivia, wondered who was with her. She couldn't imagine what was going through her head and felt her own anxiety increase tenfold as it occurred to her that she was not there to help her friend when it was needed. She wracked her brain and tried to figure out where they might be keeping her, and her thoughts drifted back to Negan and the way he insisted on staying in Rick's house just to spite him. _Well, if I'm wrong I'm wrong,_ she thought, and she took the turn in the road that would lead her to Olivia's house.


	3. Chapter 3

As she made her way down the street, she could see that the windows of Olivia's home were dark, and a sinking feeling went through Peyton's body. She wasn't exactly sure what she had been planning on doing if anyone was home, but the thought of at least potentially knowing where her friend was had given her some small comfort. It made her feel as though she could pretend that things were ok. But now Peyton was just left feeling helpless, unable to control what was happening around her as something important was being taken and hidden where she might never be able to get to it, and that was something she had hoped to never experience again.

Since she had lost her family, Peyton had few run ins with people for quite some time, up until Eric found her running across the road of an abandoned town trying to escape a growing herd. Olivia was the first person who had welcomed her in Alexandria, and though she had tried to keep her distance, the need for friendship had gotten the best of her and caused her to allow people in again. And just like before, she was now losing them one by one.

She was about to turn away from Olivia's front yard when she heard it. A crash had come from somewhere deep inside of the house, and Peyton could have sworn it was followed by a small, frightened cry. Before she knew what she was doing, her feet were running up the porch steps and projecting her through the front door. The foyer was dark, but she saw a light pouring in from a room past the stairway towards the back end of the home. There was not enough time for her to process who the voices might belong to before they were making their way towards her.

"What in the fuck?" A large man with brown hair and a beard scanned the room, eyes locking on Peyton. "Well then, look what we have here. How exactly can I help you?"

There was another man standing behind him, as well as a woman to his side who had a gun slightly raised, a stern look on her face as she sized Peyton up.

Peyton began to back up, but after remembering the cry she had heard she straightened herself up, puffing her chest and trying to make herself look much tougher than she felt. "I was just walking by and I heard a noise. I thought someone might have gotten hurt. I just wanted to see if anyone needed help."

The man chuckled and looked back to his friends. "Nah, no one's hurt hear, not yet at least." He looked back to Peyton and began walking closer to her. "But ya know, you seem like someone I wouldn't mind some help from." He had gotten close enough that she could smell the whiskey on his breath as he reached out and brushed his fingers against edges of the flannel that hung open over her tee shirt. The man behind him laughed under his breath, while the woman continued to grip her gun, although a little lower, and rolled her eyes. Peyton clenched her jaw but stood her ground. Her ears were struggling to listen, wondering if there were more people present that she hadn't yet seen.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

Her body tensed as he continued to lean in. "Peyton," She answered.

"Peyton. My name is David. I'm new around here, but I'm sure you realized that. Why don't you come sit down? We can get to know each other." He started to take her arm and motion her towards the couch a few feet to her right. She pulled back and began moving towards the door. The room was still dark save the moonlight coming in through the windows and through the hall, and she was more than a little uncomfortable being outnumbered by these people.

"It's late, I was just on my way home." She went to turn towards the door but was stopped by his arm blocking her way.

"I said, come have a seat with me." He looked down at her coldly, his voice forceful. Peyton backed away from him and did her best to avoid the eyes of the others. She was quickly moving from nervous to scared, but there was no way she was going to let them see it.

"Ok," she said, backing towards the couch. She sat down, keeping her eyes on him but remembering the gun on the other side of the room. Any wrong flinch from the woman and Peyton would have to do her best to move quickly. She mentally felt for the knife that she liked to keep hidden in her right boot and tried to think of the best ways to go for it quickly without being seen if need be. David came and sat close to her putting his arm along the back of the couch behind her. The other man came over and sat on the arm of the loveseat, while the woman leaned against the wall opposite them. All eyes were aimed at her.

"So Peyton, what's a girl like you doing walking around so late? You know it's not safe for someone as pretty as you to be walking the streets at night." His eyes wandered up and down her body, lingering around her neck. She snarled slightly at his comment.

"Our 'streets' are actually pretty safe. In fact I like taking walks this late."

The three of them laughed together. The sound wracked Peyton's nerves. David inched closer to her on the couch, their legs almost touching.

"Didn't anyone tell you pretty girl?" he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Things are changing around here. A sweet little thing like you is gonna need to watch her back. Although, I might be able to help with that."

"Oh I'm good. I think I can handle myself." She leaned back a bit, trying to distance her face from his. His arm came around behind her neck and landed on her shoulder. He scooted a bit closer.

"Is that so? You know, I bet you could. I kind of like it. I like 'em feisty. Makes it more fun." He began pulling Peyton closer to him as she pushed her arms in between them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the women remove herself from the wall and walk forward.

"Knock it off, David. That's enough."

"Piss off, Arat."

"I'm serious," she said. "You know what the boss is gonna do. You wanna fuck around, do it on your own. Not on watch, and sure as hell not when I'm around. I ain't going down so you can get your dick wet."

"Boss don't need to know. Lighten up. This is supposed to be fun." He leaned away from Peyton a bit, his attention now focused on Arat.

Arat scowled at him. "I don't care what you do for fun as long as you follow the rules around me. I've come too far to let your ass take me down with you."

David stood up and began making his way towards her. "And what exactly do you plan on doing about it?"

He started to push her in the shoulder but was quickly stopped when she grabbed his arm and twisted it backwards, sending him to his knees and catching his breath. The other man jumped up from his char, but made sure to stay a few feet away.

"You really think that's the smartest move right now after all that whiskey, you piece of shit" She twisted his arm a little further and he cried out in pain.

"Alright, alright. Fucking let me go. I was just playing around."

Arat let him go and stepped back. She turned to Peyton and waved her arm towards the door. "Get the fuck outta here before I change my mind and let him do whatever the hell he wants."

Peyton jumped up from the couch and quickly walked out the front door. As she made it down the porch, she looked back through the window and saw Arat kick David in the gut, sending him to the ground. The other man joined in and began roughing him up as well, before they both turned and walked away, leaving him groaning on the ground. Peyton turned away and began walking home, her whole body feeling as though it was on pins and needles, but not wanting to give these people the benefit of making her run scared down the street. Hough the interaction had been brief, Peyton had learned a lot about this new group of people who were to be living in her home. These people, well, they weren't people. They were barbarians who fed off of nothing but pure instinct and self benefit. There was no doubt in her mind about what David had planned to do to her tonight. And though she had already encountered people who reveled in the state of the world the way it was now, it never did sit well with her to see another human being who had become no more than an animal. Peyton was lucky that whatever system they did have had somehow managed to keep her safe tonight, if only so that Arat could protect herself.

It took her only a few moments to reach her own front door, making sure to lock it being her before resting her back against it and letting out a deep sigh. She never was able to find out what she had heard, and hoped that it was just David hurting himself in his drunken state. Something didn't feel right about it, though. What were they doing in that back room? And why were they in Olivia's place to begin with? There were plenty of empty houses these days that they could have stayed in, but did they get off on taking the home of someone who was still alive and supposed to be there themselves?

Peyton walked slowly up the stairs, ears still on high alert as she half expected to hear a stranger in her own home. It was nights like these when she wished she had decided to share a home with one of her neighbors as was offered when she first came to Alexandria. At the time she had wanted her space from other humans, but tonight she wished for nothing more than a friendly presence under the same roof. It was that one thought, the desire for a human connection, that stayed with her the rest of the night as she laid in bed, clothes still on and knife next to her pillow as she waited for the sun to rise.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long to get this up! There's some more that I had thought about including in this chapter, but I really want to get it right so I will hopefully be posting it soon. Thanks for the follows!**

Sleep eventually took hold of Peyton, and when she awoke the next morning it was easy to believe that her dreams had been real. She had been back in her own bed in her parents' home, listening to her mother cooking breakfast in the kitchen as she spoke with Peyton's father about her desire to go to Arizona and see the Grand Canyon. She could imagine how he would be smiling and nodding in agreement, always ready to indulge in the little adventures she enjoyed in her quest to see the world. The sound of the birds chirping outside of her window in their big oak tree reminded her that spring was here, her favorite time of the year, when the flowers in the garden would all be blooming and the world just seemed happier. When she opened her eyes those same birds were still chirping, but they were doing so from the eaves of her house in Alexandria, and her mother and father were no longer there with her. The knife had fallen from her bed and now lay on the floor next to her boots. She bent over to pick it up, memories of the many times she had used it in the past years racing in the back of her mind. She quickly acknowledged them before burying them again, removing herself from her bed to prepare herself for the day.

After doing a quick room check to make sure she was still alone, a custom she had stopped doing after some months in Alexandria but felt compelled to begin again, she made her way to the bathroom to take a fast shower. When she finished, she wiped a large circle of steam away from the window and took a moment to stare at the reflection looking back at her. Though she was only 24 now, she felt as though she looked ancient. Her long brown hair was healthy, but lacked the shine it used to have when she made sure to get it done every few weeks. Her skin was tan from time spent outside, and her features seemed much harder. But it was her eyes that had changed the most. Once so bright and always carrying the hint of a smile, they now looked so tired. She supposed she was still pretty in a superficial way. She hated herself for even caring. But for just once, she wished that she could put on some makeup and a cute outfit and feel like her old self again. She wondered if she could, if that light that used to be in her eyes would even come back or if she would still look as lifeless as she felt.

She dressed in her usual uniform of jeans, boots, and a loose tee shirt, and pulled her hair back in a high ponytail as she jogged down her stairs. Though she had tended the garden the previous day, she wanted to take a look at it before heading over to help with the children for the day. Before the outbreak, Peyton had been attending school to become a teacher, and she enjoyed being able to use at least a few of her skills where she could. She had often wondered if she should have volunteered to help keep watch at the gates instead. Her father had trained her well and her aim was impeccable. But for now, she just wanted to feel that she could help in a way that didn't involve death, but rather might help foster some sort of new life that they were trying to create.

As she headed towards the garden, she saw a small group had formed in the road just before it. Coming closer, Peyton eyes scanned the faces and saw that Rick, Negan, Aaron, Spencer, David, Rosita, and a few other of Negan's people seemed to be in a stand off.

"You know we weren't expecting you this early. You didn't even give us a chance to prepare ourselves. We gave you what we had but we need at least a day to figure out a run." Rick was standing firm, but Peyton could see that he was holding back, that what he really wanted to do was scream and throw punches, maybe even put a hand to the gun that usually sat at his hip. She was surprised to see it missing.

Negan stood before him, lazily holding his bat over his shoulder. "C'mon Rick, how exactly do you expect my crew here to be comfortable when your little store room is empty. We had to send our load from yesterday back home. We got people to feed too, ya know. I was hoping you guys would be a little less pitiful here but this just ain't gonna cut it."

"Give me a day."

Negan looked back at the group behind him and laughed. Turning back to Rick, he leaned in and with a large smile on his face said, "You have an hour." He then turned on his heel and began walking away from Rick, who shook his head and stormed off with the others. She could see Negan's group turn to each other laughing a bit as they strutted away with their guns still slightly raised. Negan waived them off and began walking away, eventually noticing Peyton standing a few feet away. She began walking to the right around a group of trees, hoping to avoid the need to for greetings, but was surprised when he followed after.

"Good morning Miss Peyton," he called out in a boisterous voice.

She turned around, trying to look at anything but his eyes.

"Good Morning," she replied, staring at the ground. Being alone with Negan again was not something that Peyton had expected to experience so quickly and so often, and the thought made her nerves boil up inside of her. His every move exuded dominance, and she felt immense discomfort knowing that she was not in control.

"Now why the glum look? Did someone not sleep well last night?"

Peyton made the mistake of looking up. Her eyes met his, and the smug look on his face did her in. she never had much of a temper per se, but her father had always laughed that she never could hold her tongue for long. It was a trait she had managed to tone down quite a bit, but something about Negan, the one man she should hold her tongue around, drove her absolutely mad. She wasn't sure if it was the condescending nature in which he spoke or the fact that he endangered people she cared about, but she just couldn't help her next words.

"I would have slept better if your pervy henchman didn't get in my face on the way home."

His brow furrowed and his eyes became serious. "Now I've got some assholes and some sick fucks on my crew here but you're gonna have to a bit more specific."

Peyton crossed her arms and shifted her wait uncomfortably. She hadn't really wanted to get into it and immediately regretted bringing it up. "I was walking home and I heard a noise coming from Olivia's house. I went in to check it out and was met by some drunk who wasn't exactly friendly." She sighed, realizing that there was no point in telling Negan this, that if anything he'd probably find it humorous like every other cruel thing his people did to them. "It was nothing. I shouldn't have said anything."

"On the contrary, if someone was forcing themselves on you I need to know about it because that shit is _definitely_ against the rules. I do not take kindly to that kind of behavior."

Peyton looked back up, shocked at how serious he was. She could swear that he almost even looked genuinely concerned. "Look, I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble. I just don't like people giving me a hard time, and I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It's a bad combination."

Negan squinted at her. "Well, if you're not gonna tell me who it was, I'm sure I'll find out one way or another. I don't exactly keep track of where my guys decide to spend park there shit during the night but people talk. Especially when they know what's on the line. But if it happens again, I want a name." 

"Or what?" Peyton had forgotten who she was talking to somehow, allowing her sarcastic side that liked to show its face when she was impatient to come out. She chuckled nervously, hoping to lighten the mood, but his face remained serious.

"Nothing as far as you're concerned. Like I said, I don't take kindly to a man treating a woman that way. I want a name so I can make sure it don't happen again."

Peyton nodded slowly. "Ok. I'll give you a name if it happens again. " She looked down at the ground and began drawing a line in the dirt with her shoe. She hoped she wasn't about to be treading on thin ice. "So, did you ever get your other name you were looking for?"

Negan laughed. "Shit, you don't give up do you? No, Rick still hasn't given me a name, but I'm pretty sure I figured it out on my own. The thing about you people is you all seem to think you're smarter than everyone. But like I said, people talk and I see and hear more than you all think, and I'm pretty sure those guns were taken by a certain spineless piece of shit that I'm gonna be keeping a close watch on."

"So, what does that mean going forward?"

"Well," he began, placing the end of his bat into the dirt and leaning forward onto it. Peyton looked down at it, quickly feeling a light sense of nausea. Rosita's story played itself in the back of her mind, along with the faces of Glenn and Abraham. "For starters, Miss Piggy- I'm sorry! _Olivia_ has been let free. I had a little chat with Rick a few minutes ago about the whole situation and I made it pretty clear as crystal that the only reason I was not making good on my earlier promise to punish someone over the whole thing was that I wanna see how it plays out with the scumbag he was protecting. Now considering that is my own choice, I figured it would just be plain cruel to take it out on a nice sweet woman like her. But, since I clearly can't trust her to protect the weapons around here, my crew is gonna have to take them."

Peyton's head snapped towards him. "What? You can't take our guns?"

His face turned serious, but she swore there was a hint of humor in the way he looked at her. It pissed her off.

"Oh I believe I can. But I have a feeling you're about to tell me why I cant."

"In case you hadn't noticed, there are dead people wandering outside our gates on a daily basis. Sometimes so many that the gates have actually fallen down. We've been swarmed by hundreds of them before and there's no telling when it might happen again. How are we supposed to defend ourselves with no weapons?"

Negan leaned back, swinging his bat back over his shoulder. "You're shitting me! That happened here? Well damn, you guys clean up nicely. Let me guess, you're man Rick came to save the day for you didn't he?"

Peyton frowned, scenes from that night flashing before her eyes. She hadn't been there to see Rick, Rosita, Gabriel, Michonne, and the others fight their way through the herd. When the wall fell her feet had taken over before her mind could even tell her where she was going: to the children. They had been with Sara, one of Alexandria's newest members at the time, and Peyton knew that this young girl, as loving and sweet as she was with them, was completely unprepared and unable to keep them safe at a moment like this. And even with Peyton there to secure them all in an upstairs room, the two women were helpless when it came to calming the children's fears. Though they had grown up in this world of death and monsters they were not immune to it, and a few had begun to wail loud enough that the dead had zeroed in on their hiding spot. The front door had fallen easily, and the living room was soon full, the stairs soon creaking under the weight of heavy footsteps making their way towards them. Yes, Rick saved the day for much of Alexandria, but Peyton had been there to save the day for those children and for Sara. It was probably the bloodiest moment of her life, unless you count _that_ day, before Alexandria.

She pushed those memories back and refocused on Negan. "I told you, he's not my man. It's really annoying that you keep saying that."

Negan made that face again, the one where he looked at Peyton as if he was almost awestruck, probably surprised that she dared to speak to him that way. "Excuse me, I didn't know it was such a touchy subject. You not a fan of Rick?"

"No, Rick is fine. And yes, he did do a lot to save us that day. I just don't appreciate the assumption that because I'm here I automatically have to worship him just because he makes the decisions. That might be how it works where you come from, but that's not how I work." She stopped dead in her tracks. This minor insult to Rick might be taken as a huge insult to the man with the infamous bat. After all, he was the one making the decisions now, and from what she had heard and seen she knew that he required complete obedience. He had already done the worst to obtain that from Rick, and her mouth might lead to worse if she wasn't careful. To her surprise, she was met with another laugh.

"You are a piece of work, anyone ever tell you that? I gotta say, I like that fucking little badass attitude you got coming out. Makes me wanna see what more you've got in you."

Her brow furrowed. She couldn't figure out how to read Negan. He was supposed to be scary; the big bad wolf here to tear the house down. But every time they met he was full of laughter, making fun of her in an almost friendly way, not like a bully as she would have imagined. And every time he did, he somehow managed to make her mind lose focus on what she was really wanting to talk about.

"Are you flirting with me?" it was a dumb question, and had nothing to do with the topic at hand, but for some reason it was the first thing that her mouth blurted out.

"So what if I am? Is that a problem?" he asked, leaning closer and smiling wide.

"Probably. Yes. I don't know. Whatever! Guns, were talking about guns." She shook her head and looked back at the ground, taking a deep breath before looking back at him with composure. "You just can't take them. I heard you talking to Rick about going on a run. How can he take people out with any way to protect themselves? It doesn't do you any good if they all get killed before bringing anything back."

Negan smiled again. "I just flustered you didn't I?"

Peyton sighed. "What?"

"It's cute. I don't know why but you just crack me up."

"Are you being serious right now? I'm trying to talk to you about guns and you're turning it into a joke."

"No joke, Darlin. I hear what you're saying. And I find it freaking awesome that a skinny little princess like you has the biggest balls in this whole town. Hell, Rick walks around giving me looks that could kill, makes it pretty clear he's imaging ripping my damn throat out. But the second I tell him no he just looks at me like a sad puppy that got his bone taken away. But you," he raised a finger almost to her face, standing a bit closer to her. "You can carry on a damn conversation. It's kinda refreshing, I gotta say."

Peyton coked her head, ready for this conversation to end. She had places she needed to be. "Glad I could be of amusement. May I leave now?"

Negan shrugged, giving her a smug, sideways smile. "I suppose I can allow that. It's been good talking you Peyton. I hope to see you around soon." He turned around, bat swinging in circles at his side, and began walking down the mainstreet of town. She waited until he had disappeared before taking off towards Olivia's house, hoping that his time she would find her there. She had broken into a full run by the time she made it there, and again crashed through the door at full speed as she had the night before, only this time she was met with Olivia sitting on the couch, Michonne leaning on the arm above her with an arm around her shoulder and Rick standing over her handing her a glass of water. She held a handkerchief to her chest, and though she was not crying she was visibly flustered. Peyton stopped in the door and let out a small cry before running at her and landing at her feet, throwing her arms around her waist.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia. I wanted to see you. I came here to look for you, but they- they were here and they just- they're just so …"

"I know," Olivia responded. "They had me in the back room. They told me if I called for help they'd kill whoever had walked in. I heard the way that man spoke to you. They're sick. All of them."

"What were they doing to you?" Rick asked, sitting in the chair across from her. Olivia took a large gulp from the glass he had handed her.

"Nothing physically. I mean, they pushed me around a bit, threw things around the room. I don't know if they were really planning on hurting me. But it's the way they just kept…. The things they would say. They'd get right in my face and tell me what Negan was going to do if he didn't find out who took the guns. They told me what he did to the others." Her voice began to shake. "I don't know how you go on after seeing it."

Rick shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "That's why I go on. There are people here who depend on me, and I don't want that to happen to any of them. We go on to try and keep each other safe."

Olivia turned back to Peyton. "I heard you come in. I knew you were looking for me. But I also know why you couldn't stay. There's no doubt in my mind that man would have hurt you. He was getting pretty crazy before you showed up, but I think he passed out just after you left."

"The other two started pushing him around. I saw it from the window," Peyton answered. She leaned back and wiped off her face. "I felt like such a wuss. I shouldn't have let him get to me so fast."

"It's what their good at. Psychological warfare," Michonne said angrily.

"We need to do our best to keep our distance." Rick stood up and began pacing the room. "They've been here two days and so far no one's been hurt. We just have to do our best to go along with them just a little longer. It's all a game and we gotta try to come out alive. Maybe not the winners this time, but alive."

"How are we going to stay alive with no guns?" Peyton asked. Rick turned to face her, confused.

"How did you know about that? He'd only just taken them this morning. No one knows other than me and a couple other people. "

Peyton stood up and sat on the couch with Olivia. "Negan told me right before I came over here."

Rick leaned back and stared at her, the look of confusion still on his face. "You talked to him? What happened?"

"He saw me heading towards the garden when you and the rest of them split up. I had seen you all talking and tried to avoid him, but he followed me." She looked back up at Rick and shrugged. "He didn't do anything, just annoyed me more than anything. But when I asked about Olivia he told me what they were doing. And I heard him telling you that you had to go on a run. What are you going to do?"

Rick's shoulders sagged as he took a deep breath in. He sat back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face as he leaned forward, head down. "I don't really know yet. So far it'll be me, Michonne, Rosita, Tobin, maybe a few others if I can convince them fast. He's letting us keep our knives for now, so we'll just have to be careful. In and out fast. I just don't know where. We've checked all of the places I know of around here and everything's been wiped clean. We need to find a place that we know we can find supplies without having to spend too much time searching and risk a herd coming up on us."

"We could go a little further North than usual. I think I remember seeing a school or something when we first came to Alexandria. It's worth a shot." Michonne shrugged, and Peyton could see the frustration she was hiding behind her eyes. She was Rick's most loyal friend, maybe even more though Peyton wasn't sure. But she knew that this time Michonne was having a hard time having his back. She was a fighter. Sitting back and giving it all to Negan was not sitting well with her.

"Alright. We've got no other leads. We might as well give it a shot." Rick stood up and began making his way towards the door. "I'll get everyone together and meet you at the gate in fifteen minutes. Peyton, do you mind watching out for Carl and Judith until I get back?"

"Actually, I was wondering if we could talk?" Peyton said, rushing to his side by the door. "Outside."

He looked back to Michonne and Olivia and gave them a nod of goodbye before opening the door, looking at Peyton curiously. He shut the door behind them and turned towards her on the porch.

"Sorry, I just didn't want Olivia to hear this. She's already shaken up and I didn't want to give her anything else to worry about. Hearing about people going on runs always scares her."

"Yeah, she cares about everyone, that's for sure. So what's up?"

Peyton took in a deep breath. She didn't want to do this, but it was time. "I want to go."

Rick's face scrunched up. "Go where?"

"On the run. Today. I want to go with you guys."

Rick shook his head looking down at the ground with almost a chuckle before looking back at her. "No. I can't do that Peyton. It's too dangerous. And you've never been on one before. I have to be careful about how I do this one and I can't have anyone to worry about."

"Because Tobin's so experienced," She grumbled. "Look, I know I haven't done anything like this for you guys before, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to handle myself out there. I was out there for a long time before Eric found me and I know what it's like. I'm quick and I know how to handle a knife a lot better than most of the people here. I know what to look for without being told. I can do this. And I wanna help."

Rick looked down at the ground, his hands on his hips. She could tell he was battling with himself. He didn't want her to come, didn't want to put anyone else in danger. But he needed the extra hands, and the extra set of eyes. He looked back up at her and nodded.

"Ok. You can come. I guess at some point everyone's gonna have to get used to doing things like this. And if you do have the experience we should put it to use. Not many people here do and I don't like having to take too many of them out at once if I don't have to. But I don't know that I'm gonna be able to watch your back every second. I'll do what I can, but you have to know that before we head out."

"I know. I wouldn't expect you to." Peyton stood a bit taller, wanting to look confident so that Rick could find a way to be assured in his decision.

"Meet us at the gate in ten. I'm gonna go find Sara and see if she can keep an eye out on my kids." She nodded as he turned and walked down the steps to the porch in the direction of his house. Peyton went in the opposite direction, wanting to make a quick stop at her place before heading out. After entering the house, she quickly jogged up the stairs to her bedroom and finding the small box she kept under her bed. Opening it, she took out her father's hunting knife, securing it in its sheath on her belt. It had been a long time since she had used it, but she couldn't pretend the world wasn't what it was anymore. She had to put the memories and fears aside and do something to help if she could. As she sat in the back seat of the sedan that Rick drove, she watched the gates open and told herself that it was time to face the world again. It was time.


	5. Chapter 5

"What the hell?"

Peyton looked up to see Rick's eyes narrowing angrily in the rearview mirror. Sitting in the seat in front of her, Aaron looked into the side mirror and sighed heavily. As she turned to look out of the back window, Tobin did the same in the seat to her left. She had sensed his nerves the entire car ride as he fidgeted with the knife he held in his lap. She was starting to worry he would accidently cut himself, but feared that saying something would only cause him to feel even more tense. He had helped out with things a lot since Rick had taken over Alexandria, but the new regime had him scared shitless, much like everyone else. He definitely wasn't wearing it well, and Peyton knew he would need someone to keep a close eye on him today.

She looked away from Tobin and out of the back window, noticing two things immediatly. First, the looks on the faces of Michonne and Rosita in the truck that followed them. She could see that the men in the bed of the truck were looking behind them as well, and as Peyton looked past them she saw the much larger truck that was pulling up quickly behind. Negan.

"What is he doing?" Peyton asked, turning back towards Rick and Aaron.

Rick continued to drive, gripping the steering wheel with such force that his knuckles turned white. "I don't know. But it can't be good."

The truck revved loudly as it sped up to meet them on the driver's side. Peyton was unable to see Negan's face as their car sat much lower to the ground, but she heard his voice as he called to Rick.

"Thought we'd join in on the fun, assholes! See ya in ten." They sped ahead as Rick swore under his breath.

"Why? Why do they want to help us?" Tobin asked, looking at the back of Rick's head.

"They aren't helping us," Aaron responded. "They're screwing with us."

"Yeah, and they're gonna end up getting someone killed." Rick looked in the rearview mirror, and Peyton could tell that he was thinking of Michonne. The two of them were so close, and she could see how much he worried about her.

Peyton leaned back abruptly in her seat. "Not if we don't let them."

"She's right. We just have to pretend it's any other run. Keep to the plan." Aaron looked down at his hands as if he was trying to convince himself that his words meant something. Rick looked towards him and nodded solemnly.

"Let's just be prepared for anything. Keep your eyes open and watch each other's back. We have to expect anything."

Moments later their car was pulling off the main road and onto a smaller side street at the right. They drove a few miles past an industrial area, eventually making it to the main hub of a small town Peyton was unfamiliar with. She noticed a post office, a small diner, and a few shops that she could tell had probably already been picked clean. Following the road as it curved to the left, the town's high school appeared, along with the truck that housed Negan's men.

Getting out of the car, Peyton gripped tightly to the knife at her side. As she turned to look over the hood of the truck Michonne was now parking next to them, she saw that Negan had sprawled himself across the top of a nearby sedan. One of the dead was contained in the back seat, clawing furiously at the window as it gnashed its teeth at them. He leaned back on his elbows, chewing on an apple and smirking at Rick as he exited the vehicle.

"Took ya long enough. We were starting to think we were gonna actually have to do some damn work. And by work I mean kick your sorry asses when you came back home with nothing 'cause you chickened out."

Rick approached him slowly, hands on his hips as he spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

A walker appeared from behind the truck and slowly ambled towards the group. Negan took the opportunity to practice his shooting skills, hitting the rotting woman in the head with the core of his apple.

"Whoa! Did you see that? Damn I'm good! David, hand me your glock."

Peyton's stomach turned as she saw the man from the previous evening walk up to were Negan was perched and hand him the gun. As he walked back to where he previously stood he noticed Peyton and slowly licked his lips in her direction, making it clear that he remembered her despite how drunk he had been.

A shot rang out as Negan took down the walker with ease. He stood up from the top of the car and laughed quietly, stepping down the hood and jumping to the ground.

"We shouldn't be using guns. We haven't checked out the town enough. That's gonna lead every walker for miles right to us." Negan stepped up to Rick as he spoke. He chuckled again before aiming the gun towards the sky.

"So I shouldn't do this?" he pulled the trigger three times, smiling at Rick the entire time as his group laughed behind him.

"Why are you here?" Rick asked again, seething.

"I wanted to see how you work, Rick. I mean, shit, you took at an entire outpost of mine without a whole lotta effort. Figure you must have some sorta skills out here. Not to mention, this shit is fun when all you gotta do is watch your bitches do the work for you." It was at that moment that Negan looked behind Rick to scan the group he had brought with him. When his eyes met Peyton they locked in on her, a mixture of confusion and impressed awe spreading across his face. "Plus," he began again. "We gotta make sure you assholes don't hide any of the good shit somewhere to come back and get later." He turned around, finally taking his eyes off Peyton's and began walking towards the school's front doors. "Let's get this shit started!"

Rick looked back at his group and nodded them forward, following Negan and his men into the school's front doors. While Peyton and her fellow Alexandrians walked slowly, weapons at the ready and senses on high, the other group entered as if walking into a bar. They kept their voices loud, banging their guns on lockers as they walked by, making fun of the photographs on the wall and imagining how the various people in them might have bitten the dust. As they walked down the halls, Peyton kept her eyes and ears open, straining to hear anything suspicious hidden beneath all the noise they were making. The section of the school that they had turned down appeared to be the science department. The classrooms looked much as they probably had before the turn, with beakers and other measuring utensils placed on the counters, books stacked neatly on the desks. She was surprised given the state of the rest of the town that the building had not been similarly torn through but supposed that a highshool wasn't most people's idea of a place that would hold tools for the apocalypse. The memories brought her back to that first encounter, to her father, and to all of the events that happened after that day. She quickly pushed it away and focused on taking mental pictures of each room she passed and noting any items that might be good to come back for when Negan's crew was not present. For now, he seemed to have a plan of his own.

"All Righty, look at this! Now this is my idea of a good time." Peyton looked ahead and saw Negan grinning widely while looking into the windowed door at his right. He pushed through and led them all into the school's gymnasium. The men behind him began catcalling, slinging their weapons over their shoulders and heading in excitedly. David immediately went for the basketballs, bouncing one loudly and throwing it to one of the other men. As they began their makeshift game, Rick approached Negan and spoke up.

"We need to get going. If we're not gonna clear the building first then we need to just find supplies and get out. We've already made too much noise and probably don't have much time before we need to make it outta here."

Negan turned towards him and smiled. "C'mon Rick, let's have a little fun. Oh no, let me guess. You always got picked last in gym class? Are we bringing back bad memories?"

Rick gritted his teeth looking down as if trying to calm himself. "We need to hurry. We're wasting time and drawing attention to ourselves."

"How about this? Why don't we play for it. You win, you get to call the shots he rest of this little trip. I win, and you shut the fuck up and kiss my ass."

Rick shook his head. "That isn't happening." Negan scowled back.

"I don't like it when people spoil my fun, Rick. It makes me cranky. Do you want to see me cranky?"

"He's right," Peyton broke in, causing everyone's necks to snap towards her. "We already saw one walker, which means there are probably more around here somewhere. We shouldn't be trying to get ourselves killed."

"Does it look like we're the ones that are gonna get killed?" David drawled out loudly, waving his gun in front of him. The two men behind him laughed.

"Did anyone ask you to open your mouth?" Negan asked, frowning over his shoulder at him. David's eyes widened a bit, as if surprised he was being scolded for his comment.

"Sorry man, I just didn't think she should be talking back is all."

"I'll be the one who decides when somethings a problem, David. You got it?"

"Yes, sir." He stepped back a bit, head down. Negan turned back to Peyton.

"Now since you all seem to have some grand plan of how this should go why doesn't Miss Peyton here tell me what she thinks we should be doing next instead of having some fun playing a little basketball.

Peyton gripped nervously at the knife at her hip. She looked back at the men behind him who were all glaring at her. She hadn't planned on drawing attention to herself and didn't like the idea of having any more of Negan's people knowing who she was. "Well," she began "I would normally say we should start in the cafeteria, but as we're near the locker rooms I say we start there. There could be packaged food there like granola bars and such. There's probably a first aid kit, maybe even some things we could use as weapons."

"Ha, my kinda weapons for sure!" Negan exclaimed, waving the bat that he thus far had been carrying lazily over his shoulder. "Keep going."

"After that the cafeteria and the nurses office. See if we can find any more first aid items and maybe some medicine. If we have time after that maybe hit up some rooms along the way back and see what else might come in handy. But I agree with Rick, we need to be fast. We've made way too much noise. We haven't even checked the place out to make sure it's safe to be here at all. There could be walkers or even people hiding out here. The building doesn't look trashed like the others we passed, and there has to be a reason for that"

Negan smirked. "You worry too much. I sure don't remember Rick here scoping things out before he showed up at my damn outpost. Remember that Rick?"

Rick looked back at him, not responding. Peyton looked back and forth between the two of them, confused. What was Negan referring to? What outpost was he talking about?

"Don't you worry your pretty little head P. Can I call you P? My boys and I have been round these parts plenty and ain't nothing or no one around here anymore. And even if they were, we have these little things called guns that take them out, so when I say I wanna have fun, just trust that I got this. But since you all are such worried little pussies let's just get a move on." He turned back to his men and waved an arm in the air. "Let's go boys! P wants to check out the locker rooms." He looked back at her and smiled. Peyton felt a shudder go through her body, regretting the attention she had brought upon herself. She began walking forward behind him, the rest of Rick's group lagging behind in the gymnasium, Rosita glaring at Negan's back as she slowly began following Rick in the direction of the far door. As they approached, a tall blonde man that they had not yet had the pleasure of meeting opened the door whose sign indicated it was the boys locker room and was immediately taken down to the ground. Peyton barely had time to register what had happened before two more, then three, then a dozen walkers began pouring out of the doorway, stepping over the man who was now being devoured at their feet. Negan's other men had mere seconds to jump out of the way, firing their guns as they backed up. Peyton turned to see Rick, Michonne, and Rosita running for the door to their left, only to open it up to more walkers. Rick attempted to push it closed for a moment but soon realized it was too much. The weight of their bodies was overpowering him. He jumped away and pushed Michonne forward, heading for the door they had entered the gymnasium through. Peyton went to follow but was stopped by the sound of Tobin yelling to her right. As the walkers began filling the room he had become cornered, waving his arm violently with the knife in his hands but making little contact with the correct places. Hesitating for a brief second as she debated on whether or not to just run, Peyton made the choice she knew she shouldn't and ran for Tobin, jamming her own knife into the skull of a walker she met along the way. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aaron making his way over as well, taking down two walkers as he approached. She could hear Negan's men still shooting their guns behind her, along with Negan's own voice as he cursed at the walkers he took down with a sharp jab to the head with his bat.

She finally made it to Tobin at the same time as Aaron, who grabbed him by the arm and pushed him forward towards the exit that Rick and the others had taken. Peyton moved to follow but was quickly stopped by a large walker with half his face missing who had managed to land in her blind spot. Pivoting away from his grasp she landed into the rock wall at her left, becoming pinned by his body as he attempted to rip at her neck. Holding him back with both arms, she looked past him to see Aaron attempt to make his way back to her. He took down another walker, but two more were on their way to him, others moving in fast. She could see that Tobin had disappeared, having made his way to the side of the gym that was relatively walker free, he must have booked it without looking back. Looking to her right, Peyton could see more walkers entering through the boys locker room. It was no good. Aaron would not have time to reach her.

"Go!" she yelled to him, managing to take one hand off of the walker so that she could position her knife for the kill. "I'm right behind you! Just run!"

He looked back, uncertain, but she could see him eye the bodies now filtering in and completing the math in his head. "Hurry, Peyton! I'll take down what I can on the way!" They nodded at each other before separating eyes and each making a run for the door Rick had left through. She managed to dodge her way through a few walkers before two crossed her path simultaneously. She managed to take them down but soon realized that a circle was beginning to form around her. As she did her best to kick them away, connecting her knife as close as she could to their skulls she cursed herself for going back for Tobin. Hadn't she known someone like him would be the one to get her killed one day? Hadn't she sworn she wouldn't take the time to be the hero, just as her father had taught her? Well so much for life lessons now. She was just about the stop fighting, looking over her shoulder to see the decrepit woman going for her shoulder when a loud smack rang in her ears. Whipping around, she was momentarily shocked to see that the sound was that of the walker's skull being crushed, the cause of which was Negan's wooden bat which was now taking out the dead man who was just next to it, also aiming for Peyton's back. He swung it back around to get a walker that was converging on him when he yelled to Peyton.

"Are you planning on hanging around here all day or can we get a move on like you said?" He nodded at her left, causing her to turn and see the body coming for her. She swiftly pressed her knife upward, taking it out from under the jaw and turned back to him. He pointed towards a door to the far south of the room, opposite the exit her group had taken. She turned and began running towards it, knocking down a walker on the way and killing another near the door. She slammed it open and rushed in, Negan following quickly behind her just in time. As they attempted to close the door at least five bodies slammed against it with many others following behind. Negan pushed his whole body into the door, digging his feet into the ground as Peyton did her best to aid in holding the door shut.

"Well Miss Smartypants… any bright ideas here?" he asked, attempting to throw in a chuckle over his labored breathing as he struggled to shut the door.

"Uh, not really." With her back pressed against the door she looked around the dark room, realizing they were now in what must be the girl's locker room. "Even if we get the door shut, I don't know if there's a way to lock it. It's a push bar; they'd just be able to open it right back up with their weight."

"Damn! I was hoping you'd be the optimistic one here."

Peyton looked around her as if thinking some miracle would jump out from a corner and save them. She struggled to slow down her breathing and think. What was the right choice here? What can we do? Run and hope there was another exit somewhere? No, they wouldn't have time and would be trapped if there wasn't. There was only one option, which was to try to fight through, but there were too many to take on all at once.

"Listen, if I back of the door, do you think you would have control enough to open it a little and then close it quickly?"

He looked at her confused. "Huh?" As he spoke, the door lurched inwards towards them. He gritted his teeth and pushed back with his shoulder. Peyton threw her back into the door as hard as she could.

"If we can open it a little ways I can try to take down a few at a time. But I'll need you to shut the door fast when I tell you so that we don't get overrun." It wasn't the best idea, and the chance of the horde pushing past them was real, but it was all she had. Negan looked up at her, out of breath but grinning.

"Let's do this, Princess."

Peyton looked back at him, taking a brief moment to question whether or not she should trust this man not to just open the door all the way and let the dead take her so that he could sneak out another way. But, it was this or nothing. She gave him a quick nod and jumped forward, spinning around and raising her knife as Negan opened the door a few feet. Two walkers immediately flew in, but she stopped them just as quickly, along with one more before she helped Negan push the door shut.

"How was that?" she asked looking over at him.

"Sexy as hell," he responded. The door behind them began jerking even more furiously as the walkers tried even harder to get at the humans they had just seen.

"I mean are you ok? Can you keep this up? Because this is going to take a while."

He turned towards her, back against the door, and winked. "I can go all night, babe, how about you?"

Peyton shook her head, but couldn't help but smile if nothing for the sheer nerve of him. "I can't believe you. Just keep it together." She pushed off the door again and went for the opening he made, this time taking down five before having him close it. The wall of walkers on the other side appeared to be never ending, and she knew she would have to work as fast as possible in order to stop them all before they both lost energy. Each time they closed the door they were given a slight reprieve as the remaining walkers struggled to get closer to the door that was now being somewhat blocked by the bodies of those she had killed. This helped as well to make it easier for her to take more down each time as it was harder for them to stumble over each other as they tried to make their way into the doorway. Still, it seemed like the sea of walkers was never ending, and Peyton wondered how much longer either of them would be able to keep this up. She looked over at Negan, shoulder pressed into the door as Peyton narrowly missed a bight to the forearm, and had to admit that for as horrible and terrifying as he was, she was glad he was there with her. She could not have handled this alone by a long shot, and for whatever reason he had chosen to save her out there. And though he was out of breath and visibly tiring he never voiced any indication that he wouldn't keep going. He was strong, he kept his cool, and he was doing everything he could to help keep them alive. Knowing that she was working with the enemy was a total mind fuck, but not one that she wanted to get lost in. For now, all she could do was be grateful for Negan, as impossible as that was to believe.

After what felt like hours, Peyton finally began to see that the crowd was thinning. The snarling and clawing had diminished significantly, and holding the door shut required a fraction of the strength. Negan leaned over a bit, hands on his thighs as his back held the door, and took a deep breath.

"Well what do ya think, P? Can we start picking these fuckers off yet or what?"

Peyton inhaled deeply, preparing herself for their last stand. "I think so. Not many left. Do you think you can do it after all this?"

He laughed. How after all of this Peyton wasn't sure, but he did. "Didn't you hear me earlier? I can do this all night." He slid his back down against the door a few inches, reaching for the bat at his feet. Tossing it up and into position, he looked over at Peyton. "Man am I gonna be happy to finally have some of the fun!"

Surprised at herself, Peyton let out a small exasperated laugh as the two of them ran back, allowing the door to swing open. About ten walkers tumbled inside, falling over the bodies of those before them. The two of them were able to take the first few out while they were still on the ground before finishing off the ones who had risen. As the last one attempted to reach for Negan's back as knelt over his last kill, Peyton ran over and nocked it to the ground, plunging her knife into its head. She stood up, her and Negan facing each other in the light that came through the now open doorway.

"Well, shall we?" he began, motioning an arm towards the door. Peyton looked towards it cautiously.

"Hell no. You first."

"Excuse me? So much for being the man in charge now, huh?" the look on his face feigned annoyance.

Peyton cocked her heard at him and raised an eyebrow. "I just spent the last God knows how long killing these things while you stood behind a door. You're a grown man alone with a girl that's half your size and covered in walker blood. The least you could do is go out first and make sure it's safe."

He chuckled and looked down, shaking his head a bit as he did. "Hey, that was one goddamn heavy door just so ya know. But I guess that's reasonable." He swung his bat over his shoulder and walked back into the gym, stepping over body after body as he went. Peyton followed him slowly, keeping her knife up as she looked all around. The room was empty, and from the sounds of it so were the attached rooms and hallways. Any walkers within earshot would have already been drawn to them from all of the noise they had been making for however long they were trapped and would most likely be ravenous enough to make some noise of their own. Peyton took a moment to acknowledge that none of her fellow group members must have stuck around to make sure she was alright. The sting of it was there, but she supposed she couldn't blame them. But it did add to her confusion as to how of all people to come to her aid, the one that had done so was Negan.

She followed him back through the door they had originally entered through and back into the main hall. The silence was now deafening. Looking all around, it was clear that they really were alone.

"So," Negan began, angling his body towards Peyton. "Big old school all to ourselves. You wanna make out on the principles desk?" he moved closer to her and reached an arm to her side. She backed away slowly, turning around as she did.

"No. Are you crazy?" she responded, rolling her eyes but glad that she had turned away from him and began walking the opposite direction. She could feel a blush rising into her cheeks but told herself that it was merely from exhaustion and heat.

"Where are you goin?"

"The others had to have run out of here without finishing looking around. After what we just went through I'm not leaving empty handed. Are you?" she turned back around and looked at him. He smiled as he walked forward and passed her.

"No, I don't think I am."


	6. Chapter 6

Peyton pushed through the doors that led to the cafeteria and took in their surroundings. The sights that she was met with were surprising, but made sense when she considered the state of the current building along with the massive amount of walkers that had been held inside. Tables were lined up in small rows along one side of the room with medical supplies scattered across them. The other side of the room contained sleeping bags, luggage, and other equipment that had been haphazardly strewn about. Sections of the wall had what appeared to be blood smeared across the panels, and dark stains could be seen in various areas of the floor. This must have been where the last of the town had gathered, hoping to wait out the epidemic until help arrived.

"What do you think happened to them all?" she asked quietly, her eyes scanning the room as she methodically looked for the items she wanted.

Negan scoffed. "Who the fuck cares? They were dumbasses if they thought holing up here was gonna keep 'em alive."

Peyton turned to him and grimaced. "You shouldn't say things like that. It's not fair."

"What's not fair about it? Sitting around twiddling your thumbs hoping someone's gonna save you? Fucking lazy if you ask me."

"You don't even know that's what happened. There are medical supplies. They could have been acting as a hopital?" Her eyes met a pile of toys amongst the sleeping bags, her eyes closing as if the sight would disappear as she reopened them. "Besides, you're telling me you never hoped this would be temporary."

He reached down and picked up a baseball that had been laying amongst one of the piles next to a stuffed bear and some action figures. He threw it up in the air a few times, catching it with one hand. "I sure as hell didn't sit around waiting to be rescued long enough to get myself killed." He threw the ball into the air again, only this time bringing his bat around and sending it sailing over the far counter and into the kitchen area, sending pans crashing to the ground with a loud crash.

"Hell yeah! Did you see that!"

Peyton swung back around to face him. "Are you serious right now? Have we not already had enough problems thanks to you goofing off?"

Negan backed up, putting his hands up in front of him mockingly. "Geez, sorry! Just trying to lighten the mood a bit." He swung the bat around at his side, following Peyton as she rustled through the items on the floor. She first grabbed a blue backpack and opened it to find items of men's clothing. She dumped them out and began filling it with supplies she deemed more useful; a few granola bars, a lighter, a toiletries kit, and a small sewing kit that had been opened on top of some shirts that had appeared to be in the process of being mended.

"You gonna sew a blanket up we when we get outta here?"

Peyton rolled her eyes as she placed the kit in the front pocket of the bag. "You never know when you might have to sew up a wound. They're good to have around just in case."

Negan looked at her thoughtfully. "You know, I wouldn't have pegged you as a girl who would be into this kind of thing?"

She raised her brow, continuing to shuffle through the piles on the floor. "Into it?"

"Well yeah. Coming out on runs, taking down dead pricks like it's just another Tuesday and talking about sewing people up. I gotta say I regret doubting you before."

Peyton shrugged, taking a canteen of the floor and putting it in her bag. "All the good it did me today. I nearly got myself killed."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that wasn't the smartest thing, goin' after that asshole. And the fucker just high tailed it outta here without a second thought."

She stood up and slung the bag over her shoulder, walking past him and over to the tables. "Yeah, well, I didn't see your buddies exactly standing around to make sure you were alright."

"And don't think they won't be hearing about it. I don't tolerate that shit very well. This world doesn't have room for men that act like pussies. And I'm counting your fearless leader Rick in that category too."

"What was he supposed to do? There weren't exactly many options thanks to your friends leading all those walkers straight to us. If the others had stayed behind someone probably would have gotten hurt."

"Yet the two of us managed somehow to take every one of those fuckers out on our own? Don't tell me Rick and those others couldn't have helped. For all the shit my people get for being assholes, I sure don't see much of a difference."

Peyton took a moment to ponder what he had said, and found that she wasn't really able to form an argument. Was she happy that she had been left behind? Of course not. She would have hoped that more than one person from home would have given the thought to turn around for her. She had stayed for Tobin, saved his life even, and almost lost hers for it. It just reiterated the fact that she really could not rely on anyone else anymore. The people that she would have trusted her life with were long gone, and she was alone in the most basic sense. That was until today, when the most unlikely person decided to save her. It wasn't something she could wrap her brain around, so against her better judgment, Peyton decided to broach the subject.

"Why did you stay for me?" she asked, turning around and sitting on a bench, holding a roll of gauze in her lap. She looked up at him in complete sincerity, truly curious as to what reason a supposed monster would have for saving a life. He paused from the practice swings he was taking with his bat and looked down at her.

"Most people would just say 'thankyou' and not question, ya know."

"Yeah, well most people wouldn't have such a reason to be confused."

"Confused? What the hell is there to be confused about?"

She cocked her head, raising her brows. "For starters you have more of a reputation for killing the people you conquer than you do for being their hero. Not that I'm calling you my hero or anything."

He laughed loudly, a large smile spreading across his face. "Conquer! I like that."

"You know what I mean. I couldn't really think of another way to put it." She looked down, ringing her fingers uncomfortably. It was stupid of her to ask and expect a real answer. She felt his eyes looking down on her and was surprised when he began to speak again.

"Shit, I guess I don't even really know. I wasn't exactly planning on it. But I saw the way that fucker bailed on you after you saved his ass and it kinda pissed me off. What can I say? You're kinda growing on me. It'd be a shame to watch you get wiped out after just meeting you and all. I haven't even seen all you have to offer yet."

Peyton stood up a bit and began turning back around, searching through the items on the table for ones she should take with her. "I guess I should take that as a good thing."

Negan walked closer, standing only a mere foot away. "I'm not planning on getting rid of you if that's what you're worried about. Contrary to popular opinion I don't just roll in planning on killing every person I meet, and I especially don't like killing women. I'm no barbarian after all. Some people may disagree with my particular form of leadership but I like to think I just get shit done that other people can't. If I have to resort to physical punishment it's only because someone broke a rule that calls for it."

Looking down, Peyton spoke quietly. "And Rick, he broke one of those? What did you mean when you brought up an outpost earlier?"

She looked back up and saw that Negan and raised his brows, looking surprised.

"You mean you didn't know about that? Shit, I guess it makes sense why people worship him so damn much. They don't even know who he is." He bit his lip and stared at her for a moment. "You really wanna know?" 

She shrugged. "Well yeah. I think."

Negan began pacing, continuing to swing his bat at his side. "Rick, along with a few of your other people, showed up in the middle of the night at one of my outposts and took out a bunch of my men. Stabbed them in their heads while they slept. Pussies didn't even have the balls to fight 'em while they were awake. The crazy thing is that I don't even know why. I guess they heard about us and decided they wanted some of what we have, but that shit sure as hell wasn't provoked. So when you start to thinking that I'm just some asshole who just comes around starting shit for no reason, just remember that who you really should be blaming this particular shit storm on is Rick."

All Peyton could do was stand there in front of him, shocked at what he had just told her. Though this did not by any means change that the people he had brought with him to Alexandria were the worst kind of scum she had ever met, it did change her outlook on the situation in a way she could hardly even come to terms with yet. The people she had trusted, the ones who she had thought were keeping them all safe, had actually been the ones to lead them into this mess all along. She tried to tell herself that Rick would not have done what he did without a reason, but what reason could a man have for slaughtering defenseless people in their sleep? And if it was all true, could she really blame Negan for having a counter attack, even if it did mean losing one of her own. As much as she hated him and his people for it, it made sense that it happened. It was like a stab in her chest, knowing that she had actually been on the side that had done just as much wrong all along. Did this make them the 'bad guys'?

"So are you saying if that hadn't happened you wouldn't be in Alexandria the way you are now? You wouldn't be taking all of our stuff and treating people the way you all do?"

He shrugged, looking back at her smugly. "Hey now, I happen to think I have been a damn saint to you people so far. Now as for my guys, they can be assholes and I'm still not forgetting our little conversation his morning. But yeah, I'd like to think things may have gone down a little smoother as long as everyone cooperated. Now, I'm not saying we wouldn't still be taking half your shit because in all honesty, that probably would still be happening regardless of how I found you people. I've got a lotta people to feed. Think of it like I'm the president, my guys are the government, and you pay your taxes in food and supplies. We're trying to rebuild something here and shit like safety and order don't come for free. And if somebody steps outta bounds and tries to fuck up what we're building then they gotta be stopped because I just can't have that shit. And shit like that, my dear, is what got your friends into this lovely pickle. Hell, if I'd shown up and Rick refused my offer I probably woulda still had to kill some people to get what I need, but at least I'd respect the guy."

After soaking in what he said, Peyton simply turned away and began walking towards the kitchen in silence, preferring not to look at his uncomfortable gaze any longer. Though much of what he said sent her fuming, there were areas of his reasoning that made sense. But, she never would want to admit that to him. She didn't agree with his overt use of violence and fear and she never would. No matter what had occurred leading up to it, she could not allow herself to see justification in her friends' deaths. She understood what he was saying about trying to rebuild society, even agreed with the practicality of how it might have to work, but knowing that his way of doing so included the oppression of anyone not immediately connected to him along with capital punishment for any transgression of his so called 'rules' made it a society she could never feel happy or safe in.

As she entered the kitchen she scanned her surroundings left to right, taking in the large cans left on the shelves, a layer of dust caked on each of them. She could see that the people who had been staying here were on the verge of running out of food, and she wondered if that might have had something to do with their demise. Hunger and fear can make people do crazy things, and it wouldn't be the first or last time she had seen it. She headed over to the corner where a cart was parked and brought it over, loading it up with what was left when Negan entered the door behind her.

"So what, conversation's over?"

She looked up at him as she carried a large can of peaches over to the cart. "I didn't know you required a response." She continued with her task, hoping he would walk away without continuing.

"You brought it all up. And considering what I can only gather is your usual need to say what's on your mind I would have thought you'd have more to say."

She stopped what she was doing and stood straight, looking up at him dejectedly. "Look, I just found out that everything I knew about the last few weeks is completely fucked. If you want me to turn right around and suddenly think you're the world's greatest leader, it's going to take a bit more time. Not to mention a serious blow to the head." She paused, grimacing as she realized the twisted nature of her joke. "God, I didn't mean it like that."

Negan let out a deep laugh, smiling almost sincerely at Peyton as he leaned against the doorway. "You know, I might just change your mind yet."

She rolled her eyes, going back to her task at hand. "Doubtful. Why would you even care to take the time? I don't see you having deep conversations about your political philosophies with anyone else. Other than explaining why you might have to kill our friends for something that wasn't even their fault."

"Hey, I did what you asked on that one. Not that I did it _because_ you asked, let's make that clear. And I don't know. I guess I just like a challenge."

Peyton straightened her body as best she could, coming up from where she had set a box of canned green beans on the bottom tray of the cart. Exhaustion, both physically and mentally, were catching up with her. It had her feeling irritable and probably more daring then she should be, but at this point she couldn't bother to care.

"Here's a challenge for you. How about you be a gentleman and start loading those bags of rice so we can get out of here?"

A small smile spread across Negan's face. He pushed himself off of the door frame and walked over slowly, lifting the bag of rice over his shoulder and bringing it to the cart. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, leaning over as he set it down and staring up at Peyton. She couldn't help but admit to herself that he was handsome, and the way he kept smiling at her when she expected a scowl only made him more so. She could see how he had gotten so many people to follow him. He was charismatic as much as he was cruel, and he knew just how to use that quality to his benefit. He was dangerous in many more ways than one, and Peyton knew she would need to be careful not to let herself get caught up in his tactics.

"Thank you," she responded. She grabbed the handle of the cart and began pushing it forward towards the door. "Get that for me?"

He reached over and pulled the door open. As she pushed the cart through, struggling somewhat against the weight of the heavy cans, his arms brushed against hers as he softly pushed her out of the way.

"A gentleman doesn't make a lady do _all_ the heavy lifting. How's that for taking on a challenge?"

Peyton couldn't stop herself from letting a small smile spread across her face. "I'll make sure not to let anyone know. I wouldn't wanna ruin your image."

They made their way out of the cafeteria in silence and headed back into the hallway. The light coming through the windows at either end of the building had shifted, making it clear that evening would soon be arriving. Deciding to call it a day rather than look for more supplies, they made it back to the front of the school, not surprised to see that all of the cars from their earlier caravan were gone.

"Assholes could've at least left us that damn car!" Negan yelled, his mood changing from chipper to annoyed as he curse under his breath.

"Shhhh," Peyton began, moving her fingers to her lips. "Don't you know how to be quiet?"

Negan glared at her, but she stood firm. After everything they had been through today there was no way she was letting him bring another horde down on them. When she did nothing but cock her head back at him, he exhaled sharply and shook his head. "No, I guess I don't. Better get our asses walking. And you bet your ass someone is getting my boot square up their asshole when we get back." 

"Yes sir. Let's just make sure we get home without you getting us almost killed again."

He looked sideways at her as he began pushing the cart down the street. "I'm starting to question whether you are getting on my nerves after all."

She looked down at the ground, kicking a small rock out in front of her as they went. "I'll go ahead and keep my mouth shut then. But only if you do the same." Smirking, she looked back over at him, meeting his gaze as he the tension from the moment earlier visibly released itself from his body. He let out a quiet laugh and shook his head, looking ahead again as they came across the turn that brought them back onto the main road of the town. A few cars were scattered here and there along the side of the street and they quickly made their way individually to each one. Peyton had to control herself to keep from squealing happily when she found that a green pickup still had keys hidden behind its mirror. She sat in the driver's seat and sighed deeply as she heard the engine roar to life as she turned the key. She looked over and saw Negan jerk his head up from where he had been peering inside a small red sedan. A smile spread across his face as he pushed the cart over, pulling Peyton close as she stepped out of the car and gripping her in a tight hug. He lifted her up and twirled her around as he let out a holler.

"Hallelujah! Let's get this baby loaded and get the hell outta here!"

He set Peyton down gently, and she immediately pushed herself back, flustered by the sudden contact. She nodded and whipped herself around to begin loading cans into the bed of the truck. She wasn't quite sure what had flustered her more; the fact that Negan himself had just been so physically close to her, or the fact that she hadn't minded it. After only two short days she was finding herself oddly comfortable with a man she had been so fearful of, not only able to disagree with him when she saw fit, but also showing a side of her personality that she hadn't since before the change. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever cracked a joke. Something about him just got under her skin in these two short days in a way that she had never experienced with anyone before and she couldn't even truly understand why or what it meant. It wasn't just that he was good looking, which she hated to admit that he was. It was something in his eyes, something that seemed to be hiding something other than the monster she had imagined.

Shuffling back and forth, she felt him come up alongside of her, helping load the supplies. He was quiet, but she saw a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. She chose to ignore it, focusing on finishing as quickly as possible. The sun was quickly making its way to the west, and she hated the idea of being exposed in the dark. As they finished, a lone walker began ambling down the far end of the street, adding to her anxiety to leave.

"What do ya say? One more for the road?" Negan asked, lifting his bat into position and looking back at her as he started moving forward.

Peyton opened the door to the passenger side of the truck, staring past him towards the walker. "No. Let's just get out of here. No sense in risking getting into any more trouble."

His shoulders slumped slightly as he turned back around, that bat swinging down to his side. "Aww, c'mon!" When he was met with no response he headed back to the trick, opening the driver's side and leaning on the door as he stared in at her. "You sure know how to keep a guy in line, don't ya P?"

She leaned back in the seat, turning her head to look back at him. "I don't remember agreeing to let you call me that."

He smiled, sliding behind the wheel and slamming the door. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna keep that one."


	7. Chapter 7

Moments later, Negan was turning the truck onto the highway, headed back towards home as they raced to the beat the setting sun. Reaching across the cab, he opened the glove compartment, swerving back and forth across the road as he felt his way around it.

"Clearly no one ever taught you how to drive, either." Peyton reached over and pushed the wheel back into alignment before they careened off of the asphalt and into the tree line. Negan straightened back up and took it back, no indication that he had even noticed what had happened showing up in his face.

"What tapes we got here? I could use some tunes after this _awesome_ day. How about you?"

She rolled her eyes, leaning towards the compartment and sifting through the tapes that were strewn about inside.

"Let's see. We have some Reba, Garth Brooks, George Straight-"

"God damn! All this asshole listened to was country? That shit ain't gonna work right now. Hell fucking no!"

"I didn't know you had such strong feelings about musical genres." Peyton said, continuing her search before pulling out one she thought diverged enough from the others. "Lynyrd Skynyrd?"

He laughed loudly, throwing his arm up across the seat behind her. "Perfect. Put her in."

She took the tape from its case, looking it over before placing it inside the cassette player. As the notes began to play, Negan turned the volume dial up a considerable amount. They sat there in silence for a few moments, save for the music coming through the crackly stereo speakers. Peyton was slightly in awe, unable to remember the last time she had heard music. There were a few CD's spread amongst the homes back in Alexandria, but listening to them wasn't a luxury that anyone typically indulged in. Not to mention that most of them had been owned by the town's former leader, and though Peyton had never met her, she could only gather that their taste in music was nothing alike after seeing that the majority of them were made by artists who had played the last shows of their careers in Vegas.

"Nothin beats this, does it?" Negan offered, breaking the silence between them.

"Beats what?" She looked over to see a grin that spread from ear to ear across his face as he looked out the window, his left hand draped casually over the steering wheel.

"Drivin down the highway, no speed limit. Music blaring out your windows. One of the best feelings in the world." Peyton vaguely remembered these feelings, experiencing it while cruising town with her girlfriends or leaving school on a half day in highschool. She tried to relive that feeling, like there was no care in the world as long as she was in her car with the wind whipping her hair around as she listened to her favorite song. Passing a trio of walkers on the side of the road as they hobbled amongst some abandoned luggage, her imagination quickly dwindled and brought her back to reality.

"Yeah, it's a little different these days, though. We'll be lucky if we don't lead anyone straight to us doing this now with how loud you have it. And don't forget the matter of making sure we have enough gas."

He turned his head to look at her, periodically glancing back at the road. "Don't kill my hypothetical buzz. I'm in a good mood here."

She nodded, facing away to look out her own window. The road and surrounding forest appeared empty now, and she was thankful that any attention they garnered would hopefully be limited. Taking a moment to rehash the events of the day in her mind, she wondered what the reaction at their arrival would be. As much as she wanted to go straight to Tobin's house and kick him square in his manhood for getting her into trouble in the first place, Peyton knew it would be best to treat the matter as old hat. Shit happened and it was over now. Whether or not she would let Rick take Tobin out again without giving him a piece of her mind would be something to handle when the time came. What bothered her more so currently was how to behave around Rick knowing what she now did about how their relationship with Negan had come to be in the first place. She wanted to think that it didn't matter, but deep down inside of her where her ideas of right and wrong still lived, it did matter. Alexandria had been presented as a place of hope, somewhere where good people could still come together and make a world worth living again, but in reality they were not so different from any other group out there trying to survive. The more she pondered Negan's words the more the actual act didn't upset her, so much as the lie that it was hidden by. Negan was bad, we were good. That was what they had all been led to believe. It made her stomach turn to think that all along, they had been the ones to throw the first punch in the fight against the Saviors. And what a painful punch it was.

"Where are you off to over there, P?"

Negan's voice snapped her back into reality, her eyes immediately finding his. As she looked into them she couldn't help but notice the slight twinkle in them, the odd sense of happiness they held that seemed so out of place. It made Peyton wonder what he had been like before the world had fallen apart. Was his charm and twisted joy something he had always had, or had the end of the world just brought it out in him? She tried to imagine him sitting at a desk in a suit and tie, driving home at the end of the day and eating dinner at a set table, maybe watching some tv with a wife and two kids, but the vision was just to awkward to be real. She shrugged as she thought of how to answer his question.

"Just spacing out I guess."

"Bullshit. Your wheels are turning, I can see it. I wanna hear it."

"Why?" she asked her face scrunched with curiosity.

It was his turn to shrug as he switched hands at the wheel. His left hand rubbed at the scruff on his chin as he stared forward.

"We've had so much quality time together today, who says the sharing needs to end now? That's no way to keep a friendship going."

Peyton chuckled, rolling her eyes again. "Friends? Is that what we are? I thought we already labeled this a conqueror-conqueree relationship."

His eyebrows rose as he smiled at her. "I don't think I've conquered you just yet."

Peyton closed her eyes, grimacing as she realized what she had said and how much he enjoyed twisting it. It was hard for her to get used to this side of him; the normal guy, one who wanted to talk to people and make jokes. Granted, she knew she should have felt violated by his insinuation, but for now she was too distracted by how much he seemed like your regular Joe. A terrifying Joe, but regular nonetheless.

Exhaling loudly, she turned back to face him in her seat. "Well for one, I was just thinking that you're nothing like what I expected."

"Oh yeah?" he began, looking at her sideways. "Did you picture a blonde?"

She couldn't help but giggle a little at how stupid the joke was. "No, that's not what I was thinking. I guess I was just imagining someone more…. Stern I guess."

"Stern, huh? Like old?"

"Geez, will you stop? No, just not so... normal."

"Is that what I am? Damn, and here I thought I was pretty damn impressive but I guess I gotta get my ego in check around you."

"Yeah, maybe you should." Turning away, she questioned how much she wanted to know about the man sitting next to her. Chances were that once they returned to Alexandria their encounters would become much less frequent as they went back to their everyday lives. He would have to leave at some point and head back to his own community. Though that fact was meant to be appreciated, Peyton couldn't help but feel as if she would be left with so many more questions. Negan was oddly intriguing to her, and had become so much more so the moment he saved her life. So she decided that rather then sit the rest of the car ride in awkward silence, she might as well make the best of it and learn more about him. If anything, perhaps she could find some useful information about him to be used in the future.

"How did you get here?" She looked back into his face, a solemn expression on her own. He looked back at her questioningly.

"I seem to remember a girl that looks exactly like you finding this car and hopping in, then driving my ass down this damn highway. Oh, wait. That was you."

She shook her head, frowning. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean how did you get to this point? Leading your group. Did you know a lot of them before the turn?"

He shrugged, shaking his head slightly. "Nah. Made my way around just like anyone. Met one of them fuckers who took me back to his group. The assholes couldn't figure out a run if their lives depended on it. So yours truly had to make some adjustments. Figure out how to keep these people alive. Being in charge ain't hard when you're the one putting food in people's mouths."

Peyton pondered what he said, imagining him alone in the wilderness when it all began. Not knowing if she wanted to touch that subject, she continued to question his rise to power.

"Did you always use so much force from the get go? Or did something happen that made you think that was necessary?"

He chuckled. "You just can't get past that can you?"

She shrugged. "Just curious."

He went on, a look spreading across his face as if he was remembering it all in his mind's eye. "I wouldn't say it was right from the start. But the longer we went on and that more people we ran into it became pretty clear that this world needed someone to keep people in line. The violence, rape. The worst comes out in people when there aren't rules to follow. And as fucked up as beating the shit outta people might seem you gotta look at it as something that helps the greater good. Better to take out one person than have to take out a whole group if they're gonna start shit. If I scare the shit outta enough people they might get in line. Then you put 'em to work and that helps everyone. People just gotta get their heads outta their asses and it might make some damn sense." He looked back at Peyton and smiled again. "How's that for normal?"

Looking down, Peyton squirmed a bit in her seat. Hearing him talk about his philosophy reminder her that he was not the normal joe she had pictured. But then again, what was normal now.

Turning her body back to face forward in her seat, she noticed the marker on the side of the road indicating that they were only a few miles away from Alexandria. The thought of her bed made its way into the forefront of her mind as the exhaustion crept back up on her. She leaned back, placing her head against her right fist as she closed her eyes for a moment. Her rest was quickly disturbed as Negan continued the conversation.

"You for one are anything but normal."

Her head lifted as she looked back at him. "How do you figure?"

"You're a little warrior. You get what it takes to make it out here. Now, I guess I can forgive the stupidity it took to go back for that asshole because at least you had the balls to do it."

"If I remember correctly, you came back for me."

"Yeah, but I'm awesome," he replied, facing her as he grinned widely. She cocked her brow, attempting to look as unamused as possible. He continued, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "I need people like that back home. Someone who knows their shit. Someone that doesn't have to be watched all the time, can pull their own weight. Someone who can help us bring the world back. I think someone like you might be just what we need."

As he spoke, Alexandria appeared over the horizon. Rosita stood at watch, and as they drove closer Peyton could see the look of shock on her face as she realized who was headed her way. She lowered her gun and turned around, yelling to someone a ways off. Peyton turned back to Negan, shock and confusion spreading similarly across her own face.

"What are you trying to say? You want me to work for you?"

He shrugged, resting his foot on the brake as he waited for the gates to open.

"I haven't really decided what I want out of you, P. But whatever it is, I think I'll need you to come back home with me to get it."

The gates opened, revealing Rick, Rosita, and Aaron all in various states of disbelief as the truck rolled slowly in.

"Well, fancy seeing you assholes here. Tell me, do you always run off with your tail between your legs or was today just a special occasion?"

Rick looked past Negan, speaking directly to Peyton. "You alright?"

Peyton jumped out of the passenger side, making her way around the front of the truck to where he stood. Taking her shoulder in his hand, he gave it a light squeeze as he looked up and down her body. She nodded her head, looking to Aaron in reassurance. She could see the guilt in his eyes as he stared at her, clenching his fists at his side.

"I'm so sorry, Peyton," he began, making his way over to her. Taking his hand in hers as she moved towards him, she shook her head as she shrugged his worries off.

"Don't. You did everything you could. I made it out. It's all good."

A door slammed behind them, and they all turned to see Negan exiting the truck.

"Not to interrupt this happy reunion, but there's a shit ton of supplies back here that need to make its way onto the back of _my_ truck. So I suggest you fuckers get to work." He reached into the bed of the truck, pulling out his bat and resting it on his shoulder. Peyton groaned inwardly as the others glared at him, clearly wanting to take a moment to absorb the knowledge that Peyton was in fact alive, having been left by each of them. She motioned towards the truck, beginning to walk towards the back when she heard her name being called.

"Peyton! What do you think you're doing? You've worked your ass off enough already. Those assholes can take it from here."

She turned towards Rick and the others, wide eyed and unsure of how to proceed. Rick nodded back to her, again taking her shoulder in his hand and whispering in her ear.

"For once he's right. You need some rest. We can catch up in the morning."

Nodding quietly, Peyton backed away and began heading in the direction of her house. She saw Negan up ahead walking up the steps to a house that up until now had been uninhabited. A few of his men stood on the porch, and his voice rang out as he demanded to see those who had left him behind on the run. A look of fear tinged the faces of those outside as he spoke, and she could only imagine what was in store for those who had actually been present today. Before entering the house, Negan took one last look onto the street, eyeing Peyton for a moment before turning away and entering. His words before reaching Alexandria played over in her mind, the thought of what he proposed causing an uncomfortable tightening in her stomach. The thought of becoming a member of his group, the same group that terrorized her people, was something she could not even begin to fathom. How he even thought to pose the idea shocked her enough as it was. How she would turn the idea down she wasn't quite sure yet, but she imagined that in doing so their odd relationship would most likely be coming to an end, and was surprised to find herself feeling a slight emptiness at the thought. She by no means wanted a 'friendship' as Negan had so boldly defined their interaction over the last two days. But his presence had been intense, the kind that left a giant thumbprint on that one moment in her life, and she knew she would never forget it.


End file.
